Oliver Glasner says watching Palace in Europa League would be best leaving gift | OneFootball

Departing Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has told his Conference League finalists that the best leaving gift they could give him would be the opportunity to watch them in the Europa League next season.

The Eagles are 90 minutes away from turning Glasner’s dream into a reality, with just Rayo Vallecano standing in the way of more silverware under the Austrian, who will mark the end of his transformative Crystal Palace tenure when the final whistle blows at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig.

Palace chairman Steve Parish has credited Glasner with taking his club to an unprecedented level, and, on Tuesday evening in Saxony, Glasner once again challenged the south Londoners not to place any limits on their ambitions.

He said: “Yesterday they had a nice farewell for me, and then I said a few words. I said that for me, the best thing would be, of course, winning tomorrow, but not for winning tomorrow, but because then they plan European football in the Europa League next year.

“They would get next year what we should have gotten this year. Then I said I would like to watch on TV that they would start their Europa League with the desire and the confidence that they can win the Europa League as well.

“This would make me really happy, because then I think we created a mindset at the end that is always successful.

“That doesn’t mean that you win a trophy every single year, but at the end you will always get the best out of every single player and every single team, and that’s why I hope that we win tomorrow, that these players can play Europa League football next season.”

Glasner revealed Chris Richards and Adam Wharton were available in training on Tuesday morning, but their manager insists he will only name a starting XI who are “100 per cent fit”.

open image in gallery

Crystal Palace are chasing more silverware (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Wire)

The 51-year-old Europa League winner led Palace to their first major silverware when they beat Manchester City in the 2025 FA Cup final at Wembley, where they returned to beat Liverpool and claim the Community Shield.

That FA Cup triumph led to a summer of legal turmoil, as Palace – who thought that victory had booked them a place in the Europa League – found themselves caught in a multi-club ownership conflict as a result of former co-owner John Textor’s involvement in both Palace and Lyon.

Palace appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but were denied. For the sold-out official section of 13,000 Eagles fans who have made the trip to Germany – and many more expected in general seating – winning in Leipzig would mean retribution.

The Eagles boss insists he has always maintained a strong relationship with Palace’s front office, even during a tumultuous January when he announced his decision to leave at the end of this season, and during the slump in form that followed.

open image in gallery

Dean Henderson says Palace are calm (Jordan Pettitt/PA) (PA Wire)

Captain Dean Henderson revealed the players put together a tribute video for their boss, who he said will be a “huge miss”.

Glasner is looking forward to watching his side engage in a traditional half-hour of head tennis one final time in training tomorrow.

“It’s one of the best moments for me,” said Glasner. “Because I see kids playing football. They are laughing and joking. I hope they are also laughing and joking tomorrow, and they are not introverted because they are nervous.

“Then we have the best chance to show a great performance.”

Henderson added: “The boys are pretty calm. We’ve been here before. We know what it takes.”